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Neapolitan pizza

Ingredients

Biga

  • 450 g flour Wessex Mill Pizza Flour
  • 198 g Water
  • 0.3 g Instant Yeast

Dough

  • All of the Biga torn into small pieces
  • 550 g Flour
  • 472 g cold water
  • 27 g salt
  • 8 g sugar
  • 1.2 g instant yeast

Instructions

Make the Biga

  • Dissolve the yeast in the water.
  • Add the flour.
  • Mix just until no dry flour remains—it should look like coarse crumbs, not a smooth dough.
  • Cover loosely.
  • Leave at 18–20°C for 16–18 hours.
    • The finished biga should smell sweet and nutty, not sour.

Final Dough

  • Add to the mixer:
    All of the biga (torn into small pieces)
    550g flour
    472g cold water
    27g salt
    20g olive oil
    5g diastatic malt (or 8g sugar)
    1.2g instant yeast

Mixing Order

  • Tear the biga into walnut-sized pieces.
  • Add about 300g of the water and mix until the biga starts breaking down.
  • Add the remaining flour.
  • Gradually add the remaining water.
  • Add the salt.
  • Add the olive oil last.
  • Mix until the dough is smooth, glossy, and passes a windowpane test.
    • Target dough temperature: 23–24°C.

Bulk Ferment

  • Rest for 45–60 minutes at room temperature.
  • Perform one stretch and fold after 30 minutes if the dough feels slack.

Divide

  • For Pizzas to fit a ooni oven, each dough ball should be 250-300g
  • Round them tightly and place into lightly oiled dough boxes.

Cold Fermentation

  • Refrigerate at 3–5°C for:
    48–72 hours
    • (72 hours gives the best flavour and texture).

Before Baking

  • Remove from the fridge 3–4 hours before baking.
    The dough should:
    Feel light.Be puffy.Jiggle when you gently shake the container.Spring back slowly when lightly pressed.

Stretching

  • Dust with fine semolina or 00 flour.
    Press from the centre outwards, keeping a 2–3cm rim.
    Lift and stretch gently over your knuckles.

Baking

  • Ooni / Gozney
    Stone: 430–450°CBake: 90–120 seconds,
    rotating every 20–30 seconds.
  • Pizza steel preheated for at least 1 hour.Bake at the highest temperature available.Finish under the grill if needed for extra colour.

Home Oven

  • Pizza steel preheated for at least 1 hour.
  • Bake at the highest temperature available.
  • Finish under the grill if needed for extra colour.